Method and apparatus for automatic loading of dumper

ABSTRACT

A method for loading a dumper with broken rock or the like and an apparatus for implementing the method. In the method, a loading area is defined for the dumper. The dumper is stopped at the loading area at a predefined position for loading. An emptying area is correspondingly defined in advance for a loader for transporting the material in its bucket onto the dumper box. The apparatus includes a controller for controlling the dumper at least during loading, and the controller includes means for stopping the dumper for loading at the predefined position so that the material transported by the loader can be emptied onto the dumper box in a predefined location in the longitudinal direction.

The present invention is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/FI02/00317, filed Apr. 15, 2002, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading a dumperwith broken rock or corresponding material in such a manner that severalbucketfuls of the material are loaded by a loader on a dump box in sucha manner that the loader approaches the dumper transverse to it so thatthe material in the bucket of the loader can be emptied from the bucketto the dump box.

In mining or other quarrying operations, broken rock needs to betransported in different ways for further processing from the quarry toa processing site. Broken rock is typically first transported in loadersthat fetch the broken rock and transport it to a loading site. Brokenrock is transported on by dumpers, trains or the like that return to theloading site to fetch a new load. One typical transport method is thatafter fetching a bucketful of broken rock the loader empties it directlyon the dump box. The dump box can typically take several bucketfuls,which means that when loading, the operator needs to empty the bucket atdifferent points in both longitudinal and transverse direction of thedump box so as to fill the box as well as possible. Because the operatordoes not, however, see when the box is full, it is always to some extentunevenly filled, and the process difficult for the operator. Thesituation is the same when an autonomously moving dumper controlled by acomputer is used, because the operator of the loader cannot see theinside of the box. New solutions are required, if a fully automateddumper loading is to be achieved, in which both the dumpers and loadersoperate autonomously controlled by a computer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and anapparatus, with which the loading of a dumper is easier and simpler thannow and with which loading is more efficient than before.

The method of the invention is characterized in that the loading sitehas a predefined loading area, where the dumper is stopped in apredefined position for loading; that a predefined emptying area isdefined for the loader in the loading area at the side of the dumper, towhich the loader drives for the purpose of emptying the material in itsbucket on the box of the dumper; that to fill the box of the dumper inthe desired manner in transverse direction, the loader is stopped atdifferent points transverse to the dumper, and thus longitudinal to theloader, according to the filling degree of the box and depending on theloading situation of the dump box area being loaded at the time; andthat to load the dump box in its longitudinal direction in the de-siredmanner, the dumper is moved, when one area of the box has been loaded,in longitudinal direction or the emptying area of the loader is moved inthe longitudinal direction of the dumper a predefined distance so as toload the next area of the box.

Further, the apparatus of the invention is characterized in that itcomprises control means for controlling the dumper at least duringloading; that the control means comprise means for stopping the dumperin the loading area in a predefined position so that the materialtransported by the loader can be emptied on the dump box at a predefinedpoint in its longitudinal direction and, when the dump box is loaded ata certain longitudinal point of the box, for moving the dumper inlongitudinal direction or for moving the emptying area of the loader inthe longitudinal direction of the dumper a predefined distance so as toload the next area of the box.

An essential idea of the invention is that the dumper is most preferablystopped automatically in a specific predefined loading area, to whichthe loader in turn transports a load along a specific route that istransverse to the direction of travel of the dumper to a predefinedemptying area at the side of the dumper and empties its bucket on thedump box at different points in the transverse direction of the dump boxdepending on the loading situation. This way, the filling of the box iscontrolled in its transverse direction by driving the loader eitherfurther away from the dumper or closer to it depending on which side ofthe box the load is to be emptied. A further essential idea of theinvention is that during loading, the dumper is moved most preferablyautomatically in its longitudinal direction in a manner suitable for theloading so that the load emptied from the loader drops on the dump boxat a suitable point in its longitudinal direction, in which case thelongitudinal filling of the box is correspondingly controlled by movingthe dumper to a suitable point. This way, the dump box can beappropriately filled by controlling the filling of the box in thelongitudinal direction of the dumper by means of the longitudinalposition of the dumper and in the transverse direction by means of thelongitudinal position of the loader. The essential idea of a preferredembodiment of the invention is that it comprises separate measuringmeans for measuring the amount of load on the dump box: height, weight,etc., and for controlling the loading on the basis of the measurementsin such a manner that when the amount of the load on the dump box at thecurrent loading point exceeds a predefined value, the dumper is moved inits longitudinal direction or the emptying area of the loader is movedin the longitudinal direction of the dumper so that the next loadbrought by the loader drops at an emptier point of the box, or if theentire box is full, the dumper leaves to empty the box most preferablyautomatically controlled by a computer. According to a second preferredembodiment of the invention, the loading site is such that in a loadingsituation, the dumper is substantially lower than the loader, preferablybelow the loading area of the loader. According to yet another preferredembodiment of the invention, the loading site has a funnel-shaped guidelocated above the dump box in the loading situation so that the brokenrock from the bucket of the loader drops entirely inside the dump box.

The invention provides the advantage that with the use of anautomatically controlled dumper, loading can be automated and controlledeasily so that the load transported by the loader always drops on asuitable area of the box so as to have a sufficiently high load in thedumper suitably distributed on the entire box. In fully automatedloading, where both the loader and the dumper operate automaticallyunder the control of a computer, the control and guidance of loading issimple and easy, because the longitudinal filling of the box is mostpreferably controlled by moving the dumper and, correspondingly, thetransverse filling is controlled by guiding the movement of the loaderin its longitudinal direction, which makes the control simple and easy.This, in turn, is based on the fact that it is necessary to control onlythe movement and length of movement of either machine in one directionand complex and difficult two-dimensional movement control is notneeded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail in the attacheddrawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of loading material with a loader to adumper by applying the method of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of theinvention as seen from behind a dumper,

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 2shown in the same way as in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the invention,in which the emptying area of the loader is changed according to theload situation of the dump box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a dumper 1 that runs automatically under the control of acomputer and has a box 2 for transporting a load, in this case brokenrock. The dumper moves along the route marked by arrow 3, for instance,and stops in the loading area shown by arrow 4 in the manner indicatedin the figure, i.e. where the loading area 4 begins, so that the frontedge of the box 2 is at the location shown by line 5 a. When the dumperis at this location, a loader 6 having a bucket 7 arrives as shown byarrow 8 to empty the material, such as broken rock, in the bucket 7 ontothe box 2 of the dumper 1. So as to be able to load the box in a desiredmanner, an emptying area is defined for the loader 6 in the loading areain the longitudinal direction of the dumper, to which the loader 6drives when transporting material for the dump box. So as to fill thebox 2 in a suitable manner, the front edge of the loader or some othermeasurement or comparison point is driven substantially perpendicular tothe transverse direction of the box 2 until the level shown by line 9 a,for instance, so that when the bucket 7 is tipped, the broken rock fallsover the centreline of the box 2 to the right-hand side in the figure.Correspondingly, when transporting the next bucketful, the loader stopsat the location shown by line 9 b, in which case the broken rock in thebucket 7 falls to the left-hand side of the box 2 in the figure. Thisway, an even load is achieved in transverse direction at a givenlocation in the longitudinal direction of the box. If the box volume andload-bearing capacity of the dumper permits, it is also possible to usefor instance the location marked with a dashed line midway between lines9 a and 9 b for emptying the bucket load of the loader in the middle ofthe dump box in its transverse direction. The marked locations, such aslines 9 a and 9 b, can naturally also be defined otherwise in relationto the loader, for instance at the wheels or at the back end, as long asthe stopping points of the loader in the transverse direction of thedumper are explicitly defined and detectable so the loader can be guidedaccording to them. The detection can be done for instance by using asuitable distance gauge or the like at the front end of the loader tomeasure the location of the loader in relation to the loading area ofthe dumper and thus also to the dumper in its transverse direction.Depending on the size of the loader bucket and the dump box, whichaffects the number of bucketfuls the loader can transport to onelocation in its transverse direction, it is possible to define inadvance more than one emptying area for the bucket, and their locationsare naturally selected in accordance with the equipment being used.After the front section of the box is filled while the dumper is in theposition according to the figure, the dumper is moved forward until thefront edge of the box 2 is approximately at line 5 b. Correspondingly,the box is here filled in transverse direction in the same manner as atline 5 a and further, if the length of the box is such that its loadingrequires three consecutive loading points, the dumper is run forwarduntil the front edge of the box is at line 5 c and the loading intransverse direction is done according to the earlier description. Whenthe dump box 2 is full, the computer sends a notification or fullyautomatically directs the dumper along a defined route to empty its loadand to return to be reloaded in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Thesituation of FIG. 1 shows one dumper and one loader to simplify thematter. In practice, several loaders may load one dumper, which is moreefficient, and correspondingly, when one dumper leaves the loading siteto empty its load, a second dumper can drive immediately after it to thesite to be loaded so that loading is substantially continuous for bothdumpers and loaders without any breaks that would reduce output.

In the situation shown in FIG. 1, the dumper and loader can, inprinciple, be level with each other, because the bucket of the loaderextends above the edges of the dump box. If the loader is manuallycontrolled, positioning it is easier when using controls, which areindicated by dashed lines 10 in the figure, either marked in the body ormade up of separate control posts or other controls so as to allow thecorrect positioning of the loader in the emptying area in relation tothe longitudinal position of the dumper. So as to maintain a suitableamount, i.e. in practice height, of load in the dumper, the load of thedumper can be monitored with separate measuring devices, by means ofwhich the height and/or weight of the load on the box and preferablyalso the location of the load on the box and possibly its shape can bedefined. This is described later in connection with the other figures,but on the basis of the information provided by such measuring devices,a computer, for instance, can determine that the load at a certain pointof the box is sufficient and move the dumper a required distance forwardor send it to empty its load.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the loading situation of apreferred embodiment of the invention as seen from the back of thedumper. In this case, the position of the dumper in the loadingsituation is in elevation clearly lower than the position of the loader,in which case the dumper can even be completely below the travellinglevel of the loader as shown in the figure. In this situation, loadingtakes place in principle in exactly the same way as in FIG. 1, but theload falls further down. In this embodiment, there may be adownwards-convergent guide edge 11, shown in cross-section in thefigure, located above the loading site of the dumper and at the locationof the dump box and extending to the inside of the dumper 1 box 2 edgesso that all material falls on the dump box. This detail is shown in FIG.3 in a corresponding manner to FIG. 1 from the top.

This embodiment also shows above the loading point a measuring device 12that is used to define the height and possibly also the shape of theload on the dump box 2 at the loading point. The measuring device 12 canbe a laser scanner, video camera or another suitable measuring devicefor monitoring the load on the box, especially its height and possiblyalso its shape. This load definition can also be used to guide theloader in such a manner that its stopping point in the transversedirection of the box 2 can change according to the manner in which theload has settled on the box after earlier bucketfuls. In principle, itis possible to use any suitable stopping point in the direction oftravel of the loader and it is not necessary to limit it to the stoppingpoints shown by lines 9 a and 9 b in FIG. 1. Especially when using aloader that runs automatically controlled by a computer, controlling theloading process by means of the measuring device 12 is easy andreliable, and the dump box can this way be loaded in such a manner thatas large an amount of broken rock as possible can be transported eachtime. The figure also shows two other measuring devices 12 a and 12 bthat are located under the cover of the guide edge 11 so that they canmeasure the height and/or shape of the load in transverse direction.

In addition to measuring the height, shape and location of the load, theload of the dumper can also be measured with other, different measuringmeans. Strain gauges or other gauges mounted on the body of the dumpercan be used for this purpose to define by direct measurement the weightof the load on the dump box and preferably also its location on the box.The use of such gauges and measuring means indicating measuring values,which are directly proportional to weight, are generally known per seand they are commercially generally available, which is why they neednot be described in more detail herein.

FIG. 3 shows a solution corresponding to FIG. 2 from the top, in whichcase it shows how the guide edge 11 extends inside the edges of the dumpbox marked with a dashed line and guides in both transverse andlongitudinal direction the rock pieces, which possibly fall from theloader bucket to a wider area, to the desired area on the box. Theopening of the guide edge 11 is of course approximately equal in widthto the loader bucket or longer than it in the direction of the dump boxso as to permit the broken rock to fall as easily as possible onto thebox. The guide edge 11 is mainly needed to guide blocks thataccidentally fall outside the normal emptying area onto the box.

The invention can also be applied in another manner as shown in FIG. 4,in which measuring means are used to define the position of the dumperand the operation of the loader is guided on the basis of the thusdefined dumper position. The loading area or site is then not fixed asin the embodiments described above. In this embodiment, when the dumperarrives at the loading area, i.e. inside certain predefined limits, itstops. As a result of this, measuring means automatically measure whatthe dumper position is in the area in relation to the measuring means.When the loader brings a load to the dumper, a control signal istransmitted to an apparatus in it to guide the loader along a suitablepath in relation to the dumper in the transverse and longitudinaldirection of the dumper as appropriate for the loading situation. If theloader is fully controlled by a computer, the computer runs the loaderand no actual display is needed for the operator. Loading can then alsobe done in such a manner that it is not necessary to move the dumper inits longitudinal direction, but the computer guides the route of theloader as shown by arrows 10 a to 10 c to be suitable with respect tothe longitudinal direction of the dumper on the basis of the amount andlocation of the broken rock already loaded onto the dump box. In thisembodiment, the emptying area of the loader is defined in thelongitudinal direction of the dumper, i.e. the area is moved to the sideof the dumper according to the loading situation, and the loader drivesto each emptying area according to the control commands. This solutioncan also be applied to embodiments having a separate different-levelloading site for the dumper and an edge guiding the rock. In thissituation, it is, however, possible to use a guide edge having a funnelopening substantially equal to the size of the dump box.

To ensure an even distribution of the load, it is also possible tomeasure the weight of the load. In such a case, not only is the locationand shape/height of the load on the box measured, but also the weightdistribution of the load on the box is determined. For instance, if thebroken rock being loaded is very heterogeneous containing blocks ofdifferent sizes, measuring the shape of the load only may lead to anuneven weight distribution on the box. This in turn may lead to amalfunction in the dumper at least over a long period of time. Thus,weight measurement can prevent uneven loads and consequently ensurecorrect operation of the equipment.

The invention is in the above description and in the drawings describedby way of example only and it is in no way limited to them. An essentialpoint is that loading in the longitudinal direction of the dumper iscontrolled by moving the dumper in a suitable manner for loading, mostpreferably automatically, in the longitudinal direction of the dumper,or by moving the emptying area of the loader in the longitudinaldirection of the dumper so that the rock loads transported by one ormore loaders settle as evenly as possible on the box of the dumper.Further, another essential point is that during the transverse-directionloading of the dump box the loader is guided in the transverse directionof the dumper, i.e. its direction of travel is guided, most preferablyautomatically so that the rock transported by the loaders can also beloaded as evenly as possible in the transverse direction of the box,resulting in a most suitable loading of the box. Loading is preferablydone as automatically as possible so that at least the emptying of theloader bucket is automatically controlled by control means, but ifpossible, the entire operation, from the loader fetching the material tothe movement of the loader between the loading site and the emptyingarea and the emptying of the bucket, is automated under the control ofcontrol means. Correspondingly, the movement of the dumper at itsloading site, the movement of the dumper between the loading site andthe unloading site, and the unloading of the dumper can most preferablybe fully automated under the control of control means. The control meanscorrespondingly preferably comprise at least means for emptying thebucket of the loader and for guiding the loader at least in the emptyingarea automatically, means for guiding the movement of the loaderautomatically to fetch the material from a predefined site, to guide theloader to move automatically between its loading site and the emptyingarea, and to empty the material in the bucket automatically to thedumper. Further, the control means preferably comprise means for guidingthe dumper to move automatically between the loading area and unloadingsite, to unload automatically at the unloading site, and toautomatically guide the movement of the dumper in the loading area.

The measuring device of the load can, as shown in FIG. 2, be above theloading area or one or more measuring devices can be mounted below theguide edge 11, for instance, or obliquely in front or after it in thelongitudinal direction of the loader. Two or more measuring devices cannaturally be used instead of just one, when it is necessary for themeasurement. By using the measuring device 12 or the informationobtained from it, it is possible to detect by means of comparison dataprogrammed in advance in the computer when the load on the box at agiven location is appropriate, and on the basis of this to guide boththe dumper and the loader during loading. Two- or three-dimensionalmeasurements, which are generally known per se, can be used to determinethe height of the load and possibly also its shape. The measuringdevices also help to ensure the safety of the entire operation. Thus, itis possible to detect with the measuring devices the presence of thedumper on the loading site and its correct location before the loader ispermitted to empty its bucket. If the dumper is not there or itslocation is not correct, this is indicated to the loader by transmittinga suitable control signal that prevents the loader from emptying itsbucket. This is an especially useful embodiment when using an eitherfully automated loader or both an automated loader and dumper.

1. A method for loading a dumper with material automatically: defining aloading site for loading buckets of a material to be loaded from abucket of a loader on a dump box of a dumper; defining at the loadingsite a loading area at which the dumper is stopped for loading; definingan emptying area for the loader at the side of the dumper when thedumper is in the loading area; moving the loader in a travel directionso that the loader is oriented transverse to the dumper in the emptyingarea; controlling with a controller at least part of a loading operationincluding at least one of emptying of the bucket of the loader andmovement of the dumper in the loading area; moving at least one of thedumper and the loader so that the loader is disposed at different pointsalong a length of the dumper; and loading different areas of the dumpbox of the dumper with the loader by causing the loader to empty itsbucket into the dump box of the dumper when the at least one of theloader and the dumper is moved so that the loader is disposed atdifferent points along the length of the dumper.
 2. A method as claimedin claim 1, wherein the dumper is stopped for loading at one end of theloading area so that one end of the dump box is in the emptying area ofthe loader and, after the one end of the dump box is filled, moving thedumper in a longitudinal direction to load another area of the dump box.3. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising defining a plurality ofstopping points for the loader in the emptying area in the traveldirection, stopping the loader at the different stopping points, and,when the loader is stopped at the different stopping points, loadingdifferent transverse points of the dump box.
 4. A method as claimed inclaim 1, comprising measuing a height of a load on the dump box at apoint being loaded with a measuring device and controlling loading basedon a measured load height.
 5. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprisingmeasuring a shape of a load in the dump box and controlling loadingbased on the measured shape.
 6. A method as claimed in claim 4, whereinthe measuring device confirms that the dumper is present and correctlylocated in the loading area before the loader is caused to empty itsbucket.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising measuring a weightof a load on the dump box and a location of the load relative to thedump box and controlling loading based on the weight and the location ofthe load.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loading area ofthe dumper is located lower than the emptying area of the loader.
 9. Amethod as claimed in claim 8, wherein material emptied from the bucketis guided to the dump box by a downwards-convergent guide edge above thedump box.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loader isguided by the controller to automatically fetch material from apredefined area, to automatically run between the predefined area andthe emptying area, and to automatically empty the material from thebucket to the dumper.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecontroller guides the dumper to automatically run between the loadingsite and an unloading site and to automatically unload on the unloadingsite. 12-21. (canceled)